Ienzo to Zexion
by zexioncat
Summary: Even's expiriment gone wrong creates the heartless that roam the world today, and also turns Ienzo and his friends into Nobodies! Some humor at certain parts. Some violence and blood. Rated T just in case.
1. Prologue

**My first story! This is just the prologue, so don't think it's bad yet. It's about Ienzo becoming Zexion, but Zexion comes later, the first five or six chapters are about Ienzo, then it gets to Zexion.**

**I do not own anything: Kingdom Hearts or anything related to it.**

Xehanort walked down the street on the way to town. It was just another day. His apprentices are at home, enjoying their Saturday. Although, Briag pointed out that we're running out of food, so who got stuck with that? Xehanort, of course.

On his way to town, Xehanort had to walk past the whole neighborhood. It's never a real problem. It's normal in that neighborhood to see scientists or warriors-in-training walking by in their way to the store or somewhere else. Of course, Xehanort and his apprentices are the only scientists and warriors around.

He turned the corner, eyes down for some reason. He looked up for a second and stared in shock. One of the houses on the street was engulfed in flames. A little boy of about 5-years old was on the corner screaming into the house.

Xehanort ran toward the boy. When he got closer, he heard him scream 'Mom! Dad!' The boy's hair was covered in soot and looked almost black. The fire department was trying to put out the fire. One man was trying to take the boy away, but he fought him. Xehanort ran up to the man.

"I can handle this." said Xehanort.

The man backed off and Xehanort kneeled next to the boy.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked in a soothing tone.

"Where's my mom and dad?" the boy yelled at Xehanort.

"They're not here right now." Xehanort said, trying to calm the boy down. "Can you tell me your name?"

The boy did calm down. Xehanort could tell he had been crying for a while, and is still crying currently. "Ienzo." He said eventually.

"Okay, Ienzo. My name is Xehanort. Everything's going to be okay."

Ienzo nodded and sat on the pavement of the road. His clothes were torn and burned. He looked like he was hurt.

"Are you hurt?" asked Xehanort.

Ienzo nodded and looked down at his hands. They were red and swollen, most likely burnt. Xehanort told one of the men that Ienzo needed medical attention. They quickly fixed him up and Ienzo stopped crying. Xehanort was with him the whole time, and Ienzo seemed to warm up to him.

After the fire was out, the firemen confirmed that Ienzo's parents died in the fire, but they still don't know what caused it. Although, they assume it was an accident. Xehanort overheard the men talking about taking Ienzo to an orphanage.

"No!" yelled Xehanort "You don't have to do that. I-I'll take him."

Ienzo skipped next to Xehanort on the sidewalk. After cleaning him up they saw that Ienzo's hair is a light purple color. This intrigued Xehanort; it isn't a natural hair color. He got new clothes to replace the ones that were burnt, which Ienzo seemed to like very much.

Next to him, Ienzo picked at the bandages at his arms. Xehanort has told him time after time to stop, but Ienzo really doesn't like them. Xehanort told him, once again, to stop picking at his bandages.

"Xehanort, where we going?" asked Ienzo.

Xehanort sighed. "Home."

**How did you like it? I have more chapters already made so I'll get them up...if I can figure out how. Ienzo rules!**


	2. Chapter 1

**I do not own anything: Kingdom Hearts or anything related to it.**

I walked over to Aeleus and sat down next to him. I sighed. Aeleus looked down at me.

"What's up Ienzo?" he said.

"Nothing. It's just, I don't know if I want to be a scientist or a warrior. I love science, but I also love fighting. Both are exciting to me."

Aeleus crossed his arms. "I think you should do both. I'd be good for you."

"Yeah, that could work!" I said, excited. I jumped out of my chair. "I'll go tell Xehanort!"

I ran to Xehanort's office, but bumped right into Dilan. Oh no, not Dilan! Dilan smirked at me and crossed his arms.

"Where are you going in such a hurry, shorty?"

"None of your business!" I yelled at him. I hate Dilan. I've hated him ever since I met him. He's the only one I really hate out of all of us. I can stand Briag and Ansem; Xehanort and Aeleus are my close friends, and Even is kind of my friend. Dilan is just a jerk. He hates me too and I don't know why! The first moment he laid eyes on me he hated me, and I felt the same way.

"Oh, I think it's some of my business." said Dilan "What if you're going to go hurt yourself?"

"Why would I do that?"

"How should I know?"

Dilan walked away, leaving me furious at him. Why won't he leave me alone? I sighed and walked into Xehanort's office.

I am the only one aloud in Xehanort's office whenever I want. Everyone else has to be invited, but I can barge in whenever I want. When I walked inside, Xehanort looked up from his paperwork and smiled.

"What's up Ienzo?" he said.

"Is it possible for me to be a warrior and a scientist?" I asked with uncertainty.

"I'm sure you can, but it'll be a lot of work. I think you should choose one and go with that."

I thought for a minute about my options. Dilan is a warrior, so is Briag, Aeleus, and Xehanort. Since Dilan is a warrior, I don't want to be one. On the other hand, Even and Xehanort are scientists. It's settled.

"I'll be a scientist." I said confidently.

"Great!" exclaimed Xehanort. He got up and walked toward me. "You're a smart kid for 10 Ienzo."

He ruffled my hair, but I ducked away, laughing.

The next morning, a loud buzzing noise startled me out of bed. It startled me so much that I fell out of bed. I opened my eyes and saw the wooden floor. I sighed and turned off my alarm clock.

"Ienzo, are you up?" called Briag from the kitchen.

"As awake as I'll get!" I yelled back.

School. I hate school. The only thing I hate worse than school is Dilan. I got up off the floor and walked over to my closet. I'll wear what I normally wear to school, I guess. It's simple, just a V-neck under a white jacket, blue jeans, and black boots.

I looked over at my dresser and saw the necklace. That necklace was a gift from my mom before she died. It has a gold chain with a purple amber charm on it. I grabbed it and put it on while I ran down stairs for breakfast.

Aeleus and Briag were already seated at the table, eating breakfast. Briag waved and swallowed the food he had in his mouth.

"Morning sport!" he said cheerfully "I'm driving you to school today."

"That's cool." I said, although I didn't really care. Xehanort usually drove me, but I guess something's come up. This happens.

"Just grab some cereal or something," said Aeleus "nothing fancy today."

"Alright." I poured a bowl of cheerios and sat next to Briag.

About halfway through breakfast, Even came in. He had some blue liquid all over his lab coat and had a look of distraught on his face.

"Aeleus," he said, sounding worried "I need you for a second."

Aeleus sighed and followed Even to his lab. Briag and I looked at each other. Briag smirked.

"I wonder what happened." He said curiously.

"If you don't know by the time I get beck from school, I'll figure it out." I said, focusing on my cheerios. "I'm more of a friend to him than you are."

After breakfast, Briag made sure I was ready. He made sure I had everything, like Xehanort does when he takes me. They don't want me to forget a paper or something. I told him I had everything, and we were off.

His car is pretty fancy. I don't know anything about cars, but it has no roof and it's black. I sat in the front seat, which was a bad idea on my part because now Briag can talk to me and he knows I can hear him. The whole time I smiled and nodded, and when he got quiet I said 'I don't know' and he continued talking.

I was relieved to get out of the car, except when I remembered when I got out I'm now in school. Now listening to Briag doesn't seem so bad. Briag drove away and now school is the only option. I sighed.

All of a sudden, a hand grabbed my shoulder. I screamed and turned around. Dorul, one of my best friends, was laughing his head off. I growled.

"Dude!" said Dorul between laughing fits "You scream like a girl!"

I rolled my eyes and pulled him to the door. "Come on."

Dorul stopped laughing by the time we got through the door. Right when we walked in we were mobbed by Lea, Isa, and Myde. They stopped right in front of us and smiled, just standing there. I stared at them for a moment and laughed a bit.

"I need some new, sane friends." I chuckled.

"Aw, don't do that!" exclaimed Isa.

"Yeah, you love us." Said Lea. He poked me in the arm a few times before I swatted him away.

"Not if you keep doing that!"

We laughed for a bit, and then headed to class. The most boring class in the world: Social Studies. Our teacher is also weird. He keeps getting completely off track. That's good for us because we never really do any work during that time, but it gets a little annoying after a while. One minute we are talking about Abraham Lincoln, then about Hitler, then about the Olympic Games. I mean, what do the Olympic Games have to do with Social Studies?

After lunch was gym. We all love gym, even me and I hate every sport ever invented. I kind of like hockey though.

Today we played a game called Pinball Dodge Ball: Everyone's favorite game. The key is to either knock over all of the other team's bowling pins (There are three of them) or get everyone on the opposing team out. There is a certain line where only people on a certain team can cross. You can't hit someone above the neck or the person who threw it is out. Lea, Myde, and I were on team one while Dorul and Isa were on team two. (Of course there are others at the school. Why would they open a school if only five people attended?)

Briag picked me up. I guess Xehanort is still tied up. I just have one thing to ask.

"Briag, can Dorul and Myde come over?" I asked.

Briag shrugged. "I don't see why not."

We all filed into the back. Dorul and Myde called their parents and told them they went home with me. Lea and Isa had to get home so they couldn't come. Briag didn't talk to us the whole way home, which all of us appreciated.

When we got home, Brig stopped us from sprinting up to my room. He looked at me.

"You're going to have to talk Even about that experiment that got all over his coat."

I smirked and nodded. Myde, Dorul and I ran up to my room and shut the door.

"Okay," I started "Operation: Prank Dilan is about to begin. Does anyone still have questions on what they're supposed to do?"

"Nope!" exclaimed Myde.

"No," said Dorul "but I wish we'd named it something less original."

"Whatever, just get in your places." I said "I think I heard his car pull up!"

We ran frantically out of my room to get in our places. We have been planning this for weeks; we are going to cause him emotional and physical pain. I got in my place behind the corner and smiled. I had the can of silly string and so did Dorul, who is to my right. We looked at each other and smirked. This is going to be freaking awesome!

**I hope you enjoyed it! Ienzo rules!**


	3. Chapter 2

**I do not own anything: Kingdom Hearts or anything realated to it.**

Dilan walked in the front door and walked toward us. We readied the silly string. He walked past and we simultaneously sprayed him with the string. He screamed and fell down, which left Myde open for his turn. He ran over to Dilan.

"Oh, I'm so sorry they did that!" he said in a mock worried tone. It was really convincing. Myde stuck his hand out for Dilan to grab. "Here, let me help you up."

Dilan glared at Dorul and I. We smiled innocently. Dilan grabbed Myde's hand. That was his cue. He grabbed a pen out of his pocket and pointed it straight at the heart design on his shirt. He pulled the end and ink splattered all over him.

Dilan just looked down at his clothes. Not only is he covered in silly string, but now he's covered in ink. We ran down the hall into my room, and (like we planned) Dilan followed. I locked the door behind us so we could get ready.

While we set up the bucket full of water that was to drop on Dilan's head when he stormed into the room. Dilan banged on my door screaming at us. He has a very colorful vocabulary. We quickly set up the bucket and backed off.

"Alright Dilan, I'll let you in!" I screamed "Just stop using such colorful words!"

I unlocked the door and all of us got ready to sprint past Dilan when the bucket fell. As we planned, Dilan stormed in and the bucket of water fell right on his head. There was water everywhere and Dilan was momentarily blinded from the bucket over his head.

Right when the bucket fell, Dorul, Myde, and I sprinted past Dilan to get as far away from him as possible. When we got to the living room, we heard Dilan yell "Ienzo!" at the top of his lungs. We ran past Even's lab and Xehanort's office. The only thing going through my mind was: Why does Ansem and Xehanort get an office, but everyone else doesn't? I wasn't even thinking about how Dilan would kill us if he had the chance.

We ran into the backyard and hid in the bushes. Dilan stormed into the yard, and looked around for us. He was quite a sight, being covered in silly string, ink, and being soaking wet.

"All right you little twerps!" Dilan screamed "Come out so I can cut your heads off!"

Now I'm starting to worry. He has actually impaled me in the arm with a spear once, it was not pretty. And, that was when I just went into his room. He could actually mean what he's saying right now. I looked over to the other guys and they looked scared too.

Just then, Aeleus walked into the yard. Thank goodness! He talked calmly to Dilan, but we were too far away to tell what he was saying. After a while, Dilan stomped into the house. We all came out of our hiding places. Aeleus looked at us, clearly unhappy.

"What were you thinking?" he said "He was really going to hurt you guys!"

"Sorry Aeleus." All three of us said at the same time.

"I mean, it was funny, but it was uncalled for!"

"We won't do it again." I said in a tone that everyone seemed to find cute.

Aeleus looked at us for a second and he seemed to relax. "It better not." He said. "I don't know what I'd do if you got hurt again."

Aeleus walked back into the house. When he was gone, I smiled and held my hands up. Dorul and Myde clapped them and we burst out laughing.

"I'm going to get so much grief about this from Xehanort." I said. And I did.

I'm grounded for a week. No one is allowed to come over. I can't play video games or watch TV. I also can't play with chemicals. (I love doing that) The only thing I can do is read a book and play with the other apprentices.

I walked up to Aeleus and smiled. "Can we go get some ice cream?" I asked.

Aeleus shrugged. "I don't think you are grounded from that so I don't see why not."

Just to make sure, we asked Ansem about it. He didn't care; I guess we caught him in a good mood. The ice cream store is just down the street from our house so we usually walk there, unless it's raining. But it's not raining so we walked.

Aeleus and I sat on the curb eating our ice cream when I remembered something.

"Hey, Aeleus," I started to ask "what was wrong with Even today? Did an experiment go haywire?"

Aeleus seemed to tense up. "He just spilled something." said Aeleus way too quickly.

"Aeleus, what happened?"

He paused for a second and sighed. "He created a being called a heartless and it ran around the room, spilling everything. He needed my help catching it, but he said I couldn't touch it."

I smiled. Just another experiment gone haywire, that's what I thought.

"But," continued Aeleus "using that heartless, he may have figure out how the darkness in one's heart works."

I looked up at him, surprised. Ansem has made us work on that for years. Now Even created this heartless thing and we have it all figured out!

"I have to see it!" I exclaimed. I got up off the curb. "Come on! This is big; monumental; I have got to see it!"

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Well, why not?"

"Even said if you touch it, you become a heartless yourself." My excitement lowered. "It also deliberately attacks people to turn them into heartless. It almost got me, I can't imagine what I'd do if it happened to you."

I sat back down on the curb. I thought for a moment, and then hatched a plan. Tomorrow, before anyone gets up I'll go down to Even's lab and see that heartless. I'll be very careful. I'm sure it's in a cage or something so I won't open the cage.

When we got back to the house I ran straight to my room. I grabbed my alarm clock and set it to 1:00 AM. There, no one is up at that hour. Not even Even. I ran downstairs and tried to seek out Briag. I told him I would tell him if I found out, and I'm very good at keeping promises.

Briag was outside shooting targets with his guns. I waited for him to finish a very long distance away so he wouldn't hit me. I've learned from experience.

Briag stopped to re-load his gun and saw me. "Oh, hey Ienzo!" he said. "Did you find out anything about Even yet?"

I started walking toward him. "Yeah," I said "and you'll never guess what I found out."

I told Briag all about the heartless thing and how Even basically finished all of our research. Briag seemed to get more excited every second I spoke to him. When I was done he looked down at me, smiling.

"I've gotta see it." He said calmly.

I smiled. "I already have a plan."

"Ooh!" Briag looked twice as excited as he was before. "I'm in."

**I hope you enjoyed this one! Ienzo rules!**


	4. Chapter 3

**I do not own anything: Kingdom Hearts or anything related to it.**

The loud buzzing jerked me awake. I turned off my alarm and looked at the clock. Why is it 1:00AM? I thought for a moment then remembered about my plan. I jumped out of my bed and threw on a shirt.

I opened my door quietly and peered toward Briag's room. He was also peering out the door. He smiled and I smiled back. We quietly walked downstairs to the living room.

"You ready?" whispered Briag.

I nodded. We walked silently over to Even's lab and walked in. Briag isn't used to his lab, but I am. The walls are all black, but the floor is white, which was not a good idea. From all of his failed experiments, there are stains all over the floor. Some pink, some blue, a wide assortment of colors. Briag whispered 'whoa' as we entered the lab.

Briag held his arm in front of me so I couldn't move forward. "Wait," he said "what's that over there?"

I looked toward the direction he indicated and stared for a second. A little black creature with two large antennae looked up at me with its blank, yellow eyes. I walked toward its cage. It doesn't seem scared of me. In fact, it seems to like me. Or want to eat me.

Briag walked up to the cage with a pole in his hand. He stuck the pole in the cage. The creature grabbed the pole and started to pull on it. For a while, Briag and the creature played tug of war with the pole, but in the end the creature won. I laughed.

"Wow, you lost a fight with a three-foot dog thing." I chuckled.

"Shut up." said Briag. He crossed his arms.

I looked back up at the creature and gave a little scream. It had grabbed at rat that had wandered into the cage and started to eat it. All of a sudden, the rat became a pit-black color and its eyes turned yellow, exactly like the creature; who Aeleus called a heartless. The heartless/rat crawled out of the cage and ran into a hole in the wall.

Briag and I stared at each other for a while, and then ran out of the lab. We ran to out rooms and slammed the door. I don't care much about if anyone hears me anymore. I sat on my bad and curled up into a ball. What the heck just happened?

Ansem jerked the door open and ran into my room. He saw me and relaxed a little.

"What's wrong Ienzo?" he asked.

"T-that thing that Even created," I said very quietly "i-it bit a rat and the rat turned b-black and it r-ran into the wall and I don't know w-what happened."

Ansem looked surprised. "You didn't touch it, did you?"

I shook my head violently. This is way too much for me. Ansem put his hand around my shoulder and hugged me. I calmed down a little, until I heard the scurrying in the wall. I screamed and stared at the source of the noise.

"It's okay Ienzo." comforted Ansem "We'll keep you safe. Now, let's go get you safe."

Ansem led me out of the room. Outside, everyone else was waiting for us. Briag must've told someone and word got around fast. I looked around, noticing something wrong.

"Let's go." said Ansem.

"Wait!" I yelled "Where's Xehanort?"

Everyone looked around. I can't find him! What if the rats got him?

"He's probably already outside," said Aeleus "now, let's go!"

Aeleus was about to grab the doorknob when an aura of darkness enveloped the door. Aeleus screamed and backed off, in fact we all backed off. Out of the aura appeared Xehanort. He looked straight at me and smiled.

"Hello, Ienzo." He said coldly.

**This one's shorter than usual, but I hope you liked it! Ienzo rules!**


	5. Chapter 4

**I do not own anything: Kingdom Hearts or anything related to it.**

Everyone looked from me to Xehanort. I just stared at Xehanort. He didn't sound right. His voice is cold and emotionless and the look in his eyes makes me want to run away, screaming. Dilan even seemed to get that Xehanort isn't himself, and you have to admit he isn't that bright.

"Oh, my god!" screamed Briag "The rats got him!"

Xehanort looked at Briag with sheer hatred. Briag backed up a few steps in fear. Xehanort looked back at me. I can't feel Ansem next to me anymore, all I can feel is Xehanort's gaze boring into me. He smiled; it made me even more scared.

"You're next Ienzo." he said in his creepy, not Xehanort voice. "You can either come willingly, or I'll have to make you come."

"You're not taking anyone!" yelled Aeleus.

Xehanort snapped his fingers and five of the heartless things appeared next to him, but they're bigger this time! And, they have swords for hands that look sharp enough to cut through metal. The heartless jumped forward and put everyone in a headlock, with blades held up to their throats. Well, everyone, except me.

Everyone (except me) was held back and made sure they couldn't get to either me or Xehanort.

"Now I can talk to you without interruptions." said Xehanort coldly.

"What happened Xehanort?" I asked.

He just laughed. "What is about to happen to you. The question is if you come willingly or I have to force you."

"No!" yelled Briag from behind me. Before I could turn around, he screamed in pain.

I whirled around and saw Briag, kneeling on the floor with blood all over his face. He looked up at me with one eye, because blood was spilling out of the other. He has a large cut going almost to his left eye. (The one that isn't bleeding) Three heartless had their swords drawn up to his neck.

"Briag!" I yelled and started to run toward him.

Two more heartless blocked my path and drew their swords up to me. I gasped and backed off. Xehanort laughed behind me.

"Now, pick your fate." He said.

I gritted my teeth. Briag's going to die if I don't help him. What if I can bribe Xehanort into letting them go?

"I'll go willingly, but only if you let them go." I said finally.

"That's not an option." said Xehanort "All of them already have their fates chosen. You are a different story; I'll let you choose yours."

Tears welled up in my eyes. We're all going to die, unless I can do something. I looked over at Aeleus. He had bowed his head, like he had given up hope. I can't let this happen! I shifted my feet nervously and stepped on something. I looked down and saw a piece of pipe that Dilan and Briag use to spar with instead of swords.

Before Xehanort could set his heartless on me, I grabbed the pipe and hit him in the side with all my might. He looked surprised as he was thrown to the ground from the impact of the pipe. From the ground, he glared up at me. I smiled and turned toward the heartless.

They ran toward me, their swords pointed forward. I swung the pipe and hit three of them in the head. At the moment of impact, they disappeared in a cloud of darkness. I swung the pipe at a few more heartless and watched them disappear.

"Look out!" yelled Even.

I spun around and swung the pipe just before Xehanort grabbed me. He hit the ground hard. I ran to Aeleus and destroyed the heartless holding him before it could do any harm. Aeleus grabbed the other pipe and swung at some heartless.

Ansem had broken free of his heartless and ran to the sword he held on the wall. (We were never allowed to touch that sword, now I know why.) He sliced many heartless and they disappeared.

Everyone else had broken free from their heartless from all the chaos and had grabbed some sort of weapon. I stood back to back with Briag, who was breathing heavily.

"Briag," I told him "you need to get out of her now!"

"No!" he replied "I will never abandon you guys!"

He swung a club at heartless that was charging toward him. It hit, but the heartless did not disappear. Briag and I ducked just before it swung at our necks. I hit it hard with the pipe and it disappeared.

"Go Briag!" I yelled at him "You're too weak. Get out of here!"

"No!" Briag swung at another heartless, and this time he hit it hard enough to defeat it. More heartless came at us.

"They never end!" I heard Dilan yell.

Briag went off to fight some of them closer to Even, who needed any help he could get. I fought the one's coming straight at me, not realizing that someone was sneaking up right behind me.

Just as I took down what felt like my five-hundredth heartless, I felt a terrible, blinding pain pierce my chest. I screamed as loud as I possibly could. The world started to get fuzzy. I looked down and saw a sword pierced straight through my chest.

The sword retracted and I staggered. I could see my attacker out of the corner of my eye: Xehanort. I staggered a few steps and heard Aeleus scream "Ienzo!" That was the last thing I heard before the world became black.

**The next chapter is when Zexion starts telling his story. Well, they're basically the same person...I hope you liked this one! Ienzo rules!**


	6. Chapter 5

**I don't own anything: Kingdom Hearts or anything related to it. Darn, I want Zexion and Demyx. *pout***

Am I dead? I opened my eyes to see canopies of trees above my head. Well, I don't think I'm dead. I slowly sat up and put my head on my forehead.

"What happened?" I asked myself.

I gasped. Xehanort and the others, they're in trouble! I jerked myself to a standing position and looked around frantically. Nothing but trees all around.

I scratched my head in confusion. Wasn't I just in the castle? And, why don't I feel worried about everyone? Just then, I noticed my hair color is a little darker than usual. In addition to that, I feel taller. I started to walk forward; maybe if I take a walk it'll clear my mind.

My foot caught on an object and I fell flat on my face. Ow, that hurt. I must've bit my tongue because now I taste blood. I looked at what I tripped on and became even more confused. A book, I tripped on a book. Not only that, but the title of the book on the spine is in Latin. I looked closer at the title.

"Book of Retribution." I read out loud.

Wait, I can read Latin? When did I learn that? I grabbed the book and looked it over. Three silver symbols that looked somewhat like anchors overlapped each other on the cover. Silver designs covered the book in a very nice pattern. I opened it to see if the rest of the book was in Latin, but the pages were blank.

I put my hand on my forehead in confusion. This is just getting more confusing as time goes on. I closed the book and decided to hold onto it. Maybe I can write in it when I get bored.

The forest isn't very dense and I swear there is a city to the north, so that's where I'm heading. The book is heavy, like, really heavy. I mean, when you first pick it up it seems fine, but when you walk while holding it for a few minutes it gets really heavy.

I sighed. "Stupid book." I said to myself. But, I don't want to give it up. For some reason, it feels like it's my book. I need the book for something, but I don't know what.

I started to think about my friends. Are they still fighting the heartless? Are they dead? These questions would usually make someone worry so much they'd pull their hair out, but I feel no emotion. Why is that? I examined myself and found nothing out of the ordinary. Well, apart from the fact that my hair is darker and I'm a foot taller now.

I just kept walking, the book still in tow. A branch cracked under my foot and a rustle came from the bushes. I froze and looked in the direction of the noise. A pair of bright yellow eyes faced me and immediately made me think of the heartless.

"Who are you?" I yelled. There was no answer. I felt no fear, that's odd.

"Show yourself!" I yelled. Again, no answer.

I took the book and held it in one hand open in front of me. It just felt like a normal pose to make. I stood in a fighting position and faced the being that is hiding in the bush.

The yellow eyes disappeared and I could see an aura of darkness flash behind the bush. I closed the book. That's very odd. What the hell is happening here? My appearance is different; I feel no emotion; and this book feels like it's a part of me…what the hell?

I sighed and looked toward the direction I've been going for the past ten minutes. The light of the city are visible now. Maybe I can figure out what's happening when I get there. I started walking again, all the while thinking about my fellow apprentices.

When I got close enough to the city, I saw a wall stretching around the perimeter. I sighed and started to look for an opening. Just before I was about to give up, I saw a huge hole in the wall that leads to the downtown of the city. I smiled, even though I didn't feel happy at all, and walked inside.

"Whoa." I whispered. I didn't feel impressed, but it's something instinctive I had to say.

The city is huge, with many people walking the streets. I followed the crowd, looking at all of the tall buildings and shops. At the center of town, a sign said "Welcome to Twilight Town!"

I shrugged. "I guess I'm in Twilight Town." I said to myself.

"Ienzo!" yelled a voice from behind me. I whirled around and saw Even running toward me at full speed. I smiled and ran to meet him, even though I'm still not happy. When I got to Even, I hugged him and Even hugged back.

"What's going on Even?" I asked him when we let go. "I don't feel any emotions. And, what's this book?" I showed Even the book and he inspected it thoroughly.

"Well, I'm not sure." Even said "I have the same problem with this shield." He showed me a blue shield that he had strapped to his back.

"Also, what happened to you guys and Xehanort?" I asked.

"I'm not finished." Even replied "I'm not sure what happened, but I have a theory."

I nodded, telling him to go on.

"Heartless are designed not to kill, they turn others into heartless. So, when the heartless destroyed us they really just turned us into heartless."

"But then why are we still here?" I interrupted. Even sighed, he hates being interrupted.

"Well, when a heartless is created, a shell seems to remain. This shell has no heart, which the heartless need to take out of their victims in order to turn them into heartless. If my theory is correct, then we are that empty shell."

I put my hand up to my chest. Nope, no heartbeat. I should be surprised, but I'm not. I'm not enjoying this, or anything for that matter. Just then, I realized something.

"It's your fault." I said quietly.

"Excuse me?" asked Even.

"This is your entire fault." I said, louder this time. My eyes widened. "I sound smart." I laughed a little.

"The shell that remains from the heartless can have different abilities than the original person. I guess yours is being smart."

We laughed; it just felt like the right thing to do. Even put his arm over my shoulder.

"You're getting taller Ienzo." He stated.

"That's probably a good thing." I replied.

We decided to walk around and try to find the others. Twilight Town is a huge town, but we didn't want to separate so we stuck together. We searched the whole town trying to find them, but came up with nothing. We even asked the locals if they've seen them, but still come up with nothing.

"We're never going to find them." I sighed, looking defeated. Even sighed too.

We found a bench near the edge of town and sat there for a few minutes. All of a sudden, I smelled something familiar. Yes, I smelled something. I was surprised myself, although I can't feel anything.

I jerked my head in the direction of the smell and focused on the scent. It's defiantly familiar, and I'm looking for this personas well…

"Dilan!" I yelled. Even stared at me as I sprinted toward the source of the scent.

I could hear Even running after me. The smell is getting stronger, that's a good thing…I guess. This ability is very odd, am I like a dog? Whatever I am, it's helping me find everyone. I kept running until I saw Dilan standing against a wall in the distance.

"Dilan! Hey, it's us!" I yelled at him. Dilan looked up, but didn't move.

I guess having no emotions made me forget that Dilan and I are bitter enemies. I ran up to him and smiled. I don't know why I smiled, but I did. Even ran up next to me.

"You sure look different," said Even "but, it's you."

Dilan had his dreadlocks hanging down instead of tied up, and his eyes are now a deep purple instead of hazel. Otherwise, he looks exactly the same. I still know he's Dilan though, by his scent.

Dilan said nothing to us. He stared at his feet, still leaning against the wall.

"We're different now." stated Dilan finally "We look different, and we feel different, right?"

Even and I nodded. Dilan looked up at me.

"Ienzo, take off your shirt." He simply stated.

"Wait, what?" I asked.

"I need to check something." He said.

I looked up at Even. Although I'm at least foot taller now, Even is still taller than me. Even shrugged. I sighed and took off my lab coat, and then my shirt. I looked down and saw a huge scar running down my chest, right where Xehanort's sword speared me. Dilan waved his hand in a gesture that seemed to mean 'put your shirt back on, fool' so I did.

Even seemed to realize something. "How did you find him?" he asked me.

I shrugged. "I could smell him."

"From a mile away?"

I nodded. Just then, another scent hit me. I knew this one immediately. "Xehanort!"

**Thanks for reading! I hope you like this one, but I rushed it. Don't expect it to update this frequently all the time though. I tried to put as much humor as I possibly could, but the story really wants to become serious, you know? I hope to get chapter 6 up soon! Ienzo rules!**


	7. Chapter 6

**I own nothing: Kingdom Hearts or anything related to it. But I wish I owned Ienzo; he's so cute! X3**

I sprinted around alleys and streets with Even and Dilan close behind. On closer inspection, Xehanort is also with Briag and Aleues. I've been running for about five minutes non-stop, and it really hurt. My lungs ached, my legs are tired, but I keep going.

Determined to find my family, I jumped over a fence to take a shortcut through a meadow. Even and Dilan stopped and looked after me.

"Ienzo, come back!" yelled Dilan.

"I'll come back for you!" I yelled behind me.

I sprinted through the meadow at full speed. All of a sudden, a foot caught on something and I fell flat on my face. When I fell, my book flew out of my hand and out of sight.

When I fell, the fatigue finally caught up to me. I lay on the ground gasping for breath. I feel awful. I'm focusing so much on my condition, I didn't check for scents.

"Need help?" asked a voice above me.

I looked up and smiled. I still don't know why I smiled, but I did.

"Sure, Briag." I said.

Briag sure doesn't look like Briag, but it's him. His long, black hair now has white streaks running through it. The injuries he got from the heartless clearly show. He has an eye patch over his right eye and a large scar from his jaw to his left eyes. I grabbed Briag's outstretched hand and he helped me up.

"Could this be yours?" asked another voice from behind me.

I whirled around to see Aleues holding my book, and Xehanort was behind him. I nodded and took the book. Aleues's hair is spiked up now, but that seems to be the only difference. Xehanort hasn't seemed to have changed at all.

"Where's everyone else?" asked Briag.

I pointed at the fence in the distance. Very faintly, you could see Dilan and Even waiting behind it.

Just then a noticed something, why didn't I notice it before? Even has a shield, I know that, but every else has some kind of weapon. Well, Xehanort doesn't have anything and I don't think my book qualifies as a weapon. I remember Dilan holding some spears; Briag has two large guns in the holsters of his belt; and Aeleus has a huge axe-sword type of thing slung around his back.

Xehanort stayed in the back of the group, completely silent. He's looking down at the ground, like he's thinking of something. Just then, Briag ruffled my hair.

"You're a little taller than I remember." He said.

I swatted him away playfully. Aleues put his arm around my shoulder.

"Come on," he said "let's go meet up with the others."

I was still pretty tired from all the running. I sighed and tried my best to walk. Aleues seemed to notice that I was having trouble. He grabbed my belt to help me keep steady and he put my arm around his shoulder. I relaxed a bit and I'm having less trouble walking.

"Thanks Aleues." I said.

"No problem." He replied.

When we reached the fence, Even looked impressed; is that possible? Is being impressed a feeling? I sat on the sidewalk to rest; I've still not recovered from all the running. Briag sat down next to me and put his arm around my shoulder.

"How did you find us?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I can smell you guys."

Briag stared at me. "You can smell us?"

"Yeah, even from that far away. That's how I found Dilan."

Briag sighed. "That's not normal."

"Neither is any of this."

Briag laughed a little. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

I looked at Briag's guns. They don't look like ordinary guns. They're a blend of pink, red, and purple in color; and there doesn't seem to be any place to put the bullets.

"How do those guns work?" I asked.

Briag sighed. "I don't really know, but at least they're guns." He looked at the book in my hands. "What's that book for?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I have no idea."

Aleues sat down on my other side and he put his arm around my shoulder as well.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I guess so," I said "apart from that fact that I feel no emotion and I don't know what's going on."

Aleues laughed a little. "Same for me." he said.

"Well, then why do we still smile and laugh?" I asked.

"I guess it's something that comes natural to us." said Briag.

I thought about this for a while. Xehanort seemed to realize this and called me over to him. I got up and walked toward him. Xehanort sighed when he got me alone.

"We need to figure out what's going on." he said.

"Even told me what he thinks is going on." I said.

"Yeah, he told me too."

"So, do we really have no hearts?"

"Well, do you have a pulse?"

I put two fingers up to my neck and held them there. I did this all the time for Even when he used me to run experiments. He always asked for my pulse, and usually I would tell him a normal number. But now I feel nothing; no pulse at all.

"It's like I'm dead." I whispered.

Xehanort nodded. "It's like that with all of us." He crossed his arms. "Since we are new people, I think we should have new names."

"How are we going to remember new names?"

"It'll be simple, just rearrange the letters with an 'x' in it somewhere."

"But you already have an 'x' in your name."

Xehanort thought for a minute. "I'll use Ansem's name."

"I think Ansem wants to use his own name when he anagrams it."

"Ansem isn't here, he isn't like us."

I paused to sniff the air. I don't smell Ansem at all. Maybe he heartless didn't get him.

I sighed. "Okay."

We walked over to everyone else and told them the plan about the new names. Everyone seemed to agree to this plan. We would pick our own names for the anagram. Everyone sat down to think of names.

Briag snapped his fingers. "Xigbar!" he exclaimed "My name is Xigbar!"

"I'm Vexen now." said Even.

"I'll be Xemnas." said Xehanort.

"I'm thinking Xaldin for me." said Dilan.

"Lexaeus sounds good for me." decided Aleues.

I thought for a minute. I'm the only one without a name now. While I was thinking, my book slipped from my lap and fell open. I picked it up, but saw something written on the page. I looked closer.

"Zexion…" I read out loud.

Xigbar shrugged. "Sounds cool." He said.

I looked at him and smiled. I turned back to the book and saw a blank page. Where is the name? What happened to it? I sighed and closed the book.

Xemnas got up. "I think we should find a place to stay." he said.

"I agree." said Vexen.

Xigbar got up and stretched his hand out to help me up. I accepted the help and we walked off the find somewhere to stay. We had our "weapons" in hand, which made us look dangerous; but we had nowhere to put them.

I kept thinking of how I just want to drop this book off somewhere, but to be able to have it at any time. I mean, I don't want to carry it around, but I want it close at hand. Just then, the weight of the book disappeared. I looked down and the book is gone. I looked behind me to see if I dropped it, but nothing is there.

"Lexaeus," I asked. "have you seen my book?"

"Not without you." he said.

I sighed. I'm starting to miss my book. It's interesting to look at. I gasped, something appeared in my hand. I looked down to see my book. How did it get there?

"What's wrong?" asked Lexaeus.

"My book just disappeared and then reappeared." I explained. "I thought about how I didn't want it anymore and it was gone. Then I thought about how I did want it and it reappeared."

I thought again about how I didn't want the book. In an aura of darkness, similar to that of the heartless, the book disappeared. Lexaeus took a step back.

"How did you do that?" he asked.

"I don't really know." I said.

Xigbar was watching too. He closed his eyes, deep in thought. All of a sudden, his guns disappeared in a red aura. He smiled at his accomplishment.

"Awesome!" he exclaimed.

Vexen saw us and stopped in his tracks. Xemnas stopped to look, unsure what is going on.

"How did you do that?" asked Vexen.

Xigbar smiled. "It's simple…"

**Thanks for reading! I'm starting to get writers block, which is pretty rare for me. I went to Matsuricon over the weekend, that's why this wasn't up sooner. I'm going to Ohayocon too! X3 So, I hope you like this one. Ienzo rules! (Zexion rules too ^w^)**


	8. Chapter 7

**I own nothing:Kingdom Hearts or anything related to it. But I wish I owned Demyx...rawr!**

After about 10 minutes of practice, we all got the hang of appearing and disappearing our weapons. It was a relief to get rid of that book. Xemnas just watched as we practiced. He disappeared for a few minutes, but he came back so I wasn't worried. Well, I couldn't be worried anyway.

"Okay," said Vexen when we were finished "let's continue to find a place to stay."

We all nodded and followed him down the alley. I was staying close to Xemnas, making sure nothing bad happens to him again. He seemed to notice this and let me get as close to him as I wanted. I got up right next to him so that our arms brushed against each other.

"I'm not leaving anytime soon." said Xemnas.

"I know," I said "but I just want to be sure."

We looked all over town to find a place to stay, but came up with nothing. We decided to check other towns, but we didn't have any money so we couldn't take the train. We had to walk to the next town. Some people said that Hollow Bastion, which is the town we are heading to, is full of deadly creatures. We decided to go anyway.

As we walked on the path through the woods, I suddenly realized something.

"Whatever happened to the heartless?" I asked "Did they invade Radiant Garden?"

"We won't know for sure until we ask." answered Lexaeus.

After it got dark, I could tell everyone was getting tired. Our pace slowed over time and everyone was hunched over in fatigue. I was also very tired. I leaned some of my weight in Xemnas, and he let me.

"I think we should stop for the night." suggested Vexen.

"But where are we supposed to stop?" asked Xigbar.

Vexen shrugged. "A cave maybe?"

"There's a cave over there." said Lexaeus. He pointed to an opening in some rock a few yards from the path.

Xaldin shrugged. "It might work." he said.

We stepped over plants and tree stumps to get to the cave. We peered inside, but saw nothing but darkness.

"How do we know if anything's in there?" asked Xigbar.

"I got it." I said. I took a deep breath and smelled my surroundings. There is a lynx about a mile to the west; a few snakes scattered around, but not any within a mile of our location; and nothing but a few harmless bugs in the cave.

"It's clear." I said. I quickly walked into the cave to get warm. It was starting to get really cold outside.

Everyone else followed me inside. I settled down in the back of the cave, Xemnas and Xigbar sat next to me. Suddenly feeling completely exhausted, I leaned my head on Xemnas's shoulder and fell asleep instantly.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Zexion, wake up!" a voice screamed in my ear.

I jerked awake and smacked heads with Xaldin. I rubbed my head where I smacked it against Xaldin's.

"What the hell…?" I whispered.

"Ow…" said Xaldin. He's holding his head where he bumped it against mine. "Be more careful next time Zexion!"

"Jeez, I'm sorry. I'm not the one screaming in everyone's ears."

Xaldin glared at me. "Anyway, you can see the town from the mouth of the cave; we're close."

"Really!" I exclaimed.

I pushed passed Xaldin and ran outside. No, I wasn't excited; I just want to find civilization. From the cave, I could see a faint outline of the city in the distance. Everyone was already waiting for Xaldin and me on the path.

"Can you be any slower?" asked Xigbar sarcastically.

Xaldin pushed past me and glared at me as he did so. I followed him to the path and took my position right next to Xemnas. Xemnas nodded toward town in a gesture that seemed to mean 'onward!'

We marched forward, heading for town. About halfway there, the town seemed to become familiar, but I just couldn't put my finger on why. I've never been to any other town than Radiant Garden, and of course Twilight Town. I wonder if anyone else has this feeling.

"Have we been here before?" asked Xigbar, confirming my suspicion.

"I don't think so," said Lexaeus "but it sure feels that way."

We continued walking silently through the forest. I didn't want to say anything, but I was starving! I think Xemnas seemed to hear my stomach growl. He put his arm around me.

"Yeah," he said "I'm hungry too."

"Well, there's nothing to eat out here." said Vexen from behind us "I guess we have to get something in town."

I nodded and continued walking. I was starting to feel weak from hunger a few minutes later. I thought I was going to die out there in the woods. I wasn't scared, worried, anything at all; I just didn't want to die.

Xemnas looked concerned, although I knew he couldn't be. He put his arm under mine and helped me keep steady.

"We really need to find something to eat now." said Xigbar; I guess he noticed my condition as well. Everyone else seemed weak too.

"Zexion," said Vexen "can you smell a food source? Like berries or something we can eat."

I nodded and focused on my surroundings. I took a deep breath and analyzed the scents around me.

"Over here." I said, and pointed to a bush about ten meters away from the path.

"Alright!" cheered Xigbar. He climbed through vines and plants to get to the bush. He grabbed as many berries as he could and walked back to us.

"I'll go get the rest!" he said.

There wasn't enough berries for a real meal, but it would get us to Hallow Bastion. Finding new strength, we pressed on.

Finally, after hours of walking, we made it to town. Xigbar and Xaldin punched the air and cheered; Lexaeus sighed with relief; I just stared in horror. This can't be happening; how fast did the heartless spread?

"What's wrong?" asked Vexen.

"This isn't Hallow Bastion…" I whispered. I wasn't scared or worried, I was just…I don't know how to explain it. I just knew I should feel scared or mad, so I made myself believe I was feeling those emotions.

"Of course this is Hallow Bastion," said Xaldin "it says so on the sign."

I shook my head. "No, it's Radiant Garden."

Everyone stared at the town, deep in thought. Didn't anyone else see it? Down that street is the school, and next to the school is the ice cream shop. I went to that ice cream shop every Saturday with Ansem, I know that street!

"It is…" whispered Xemnas.

I grabbed the sleeve of Xemnas's lab coat and hug on. I'm being so childish, but who cares.

"I can't believe this." said Vexen.

"It's all your fault Vexen!" yelled Xigbar.

Xigbar had his fists clenched and was looking down steadily. Vexen looked taken aback. Xigbar snapped his head up and looked straight at Vexen.

"If you didn't create those heartless, we wouldn't be in this mess!" he yelled "This place; Hallow Bastion; would still be Radiant Garden! We would be feeling emotions and preparing for the keyblade war! You destroyed everything!"

Xigbar stormed off down the street that leads to the school. I knew he couldn't feel mad or upset, but he sure looked like it. Vexen looked down steadily, a look of grief on his face.

Why is everyone pretending to have emotions? I know it looks natural, but why take the time to replicate them? I guess it's something natural from when we were normal.

"I'll go get him." I said.

I ran down the street, trying to catch up with Xigbar. He must've turned onto another street becuase he wasn't on this one. I looked down every street trying to find him. Every street was deserted, not even the locals were there.

I turned down one street and saw Xigbar starting at an empty lot. He looked deep in thought. I ran up to him; he didn't seem hurt, that's good. He didn't even seem to notice I was there.

"Xigbar," I said "we need to get back to-" I stopped mid-sentence and looked around.

Wait a second; that's Dorul's house…and Dorul lives right across the street from us. That means…

"Xigbar, where is our house?"

"Gone…" whispered Xigbar "It's just gone…the heartless destroyed it…and took all of your friends too."

"You don't know that!" I said. My voice was rising and I was acting upset to get my point across. "Myde could be in his house right now, worrying about us! And…Lea and Isa are playing pranks on Lumaria, like they always do! And, they're gonna get in trouble and hear all kinds of grief from their parents and-"

"Give it up Zexion." Interrupted Xigbar "They're gone, I already checked their houses; in fact, almost everyone is gone."

**I hope you like this one! I worked on it pretty fast, I had an idea and I threw it out there. I'm starting to get writers block again XP I hope it's still a good story. After a while, sometimes my stories plumit and become boring. Please rate and review FT**


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